John Boyega to play Idris Elba's son in 'Pacific Rim 2'

Star Wars actor John Boyega has landed the lead role in the forthcoming sequel to action blockbuster Pacific Rim.

The 24-year-old London-born actor will be playing the son of Stacker Pentecost, who was played by Idris Elba in the 2013 original, reported Deadline.

Featuring human-piloted giant robots battling with trans-dimensional alien monsters, Pacific Rim ranked as one of the bigger budgets in recent times.

Directed by Guillermo Del Toro is set to take a back seat to become executive producer, with television director and screenwriter Steven S DeKnight set to make his movie directorial debut with Pacific Rim 2.

The sequel currently has a tentative release date of August 4, 2017. It will begin shooting at the end of this year, as soon as Boyega has finished filming the eighth instalment of Star Wars.